Scottish Executive

Abolition of Feudal Tenure Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to bring forward the commencement order in respect of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 in order to ensure that home owners do not continue to face demands from feudal superiors for payments for waiver of title conditions and whether it will canvass MSPs in order to establish how widespread this practice continues to be.

Iain Gray: We will bring forward the commencement order in due course. The Property Law Reform programme is a package and we will assess the appropriate date for commencement when the next Bill in the package – the Title Conditions Bill – has been enacted. We expect to consult on a draft Title Conditions Bill in the spring. Meantime, we have no plans to conduct a survey of MSPs, but would of course be happy to receive any information from them.

Environment

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake research into the presence of radioactive fallout in areas which have been subject to depleted uranium shelling.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Monitoring of depleted uranium in the environment is already undertaken by the Radiation Protection Services of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. The Scottish Executive has no plans to instigate additional monitoring.

Environment

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5422 by Sarah Boyack on 13 April 2000, whether the Minister for Environment, Sport and Culture will now ask for direct advance notification of any future target practice to be undertaken in Scotland by the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Sam Galbraith: No.

Environment

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or any other Scottish public body holds information on the number of rounds of depleted uranium shells which have been exploded in Scotland and the location of such activities in connection with environmental monitoring responsibilities.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I am advised by the Ministry of Defence that 6,907 depleted uranium projectiles have been fired into the Solway Firth from the Dundrennan Range, Kirkcudbright, and 315 into Luce Bay from the West Freugh Range, near Stranraer. These projectiles are not explosive.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make additional funding available to Lothian and Borders police to meet any additional policing burden which will result from the Global Forum for Law Enforcement and National Security Conference in Edinburgh in June 2001 and, if so, what funding will be allocated.

Mr Jim Wallace: It is for the Chief Constable in consultation with his joint police board to determine priorities within the budget set for the force. Funding is allocated to forces in total and is not earmarked by the Executive for specific purposes.

Programme for Government

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out its policy priorities and programme for government.

Henry McLeish: The policy priorities and programme for government of the Scottish Executive are encapsulated in Working together for Scotland – a Programme for Government , published today. It sets out what the Executive has done, and what we will do in the future to build a modern, prosperous and socially just Scotland. It also reports on progress and achievements against the commitments we set out in the first programme for government, Making it work together , published in September 1999.

  A copy of Working together for Scotland – a Programme for Government is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 10911). Additional copies are available in the Document Supply Centre.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Accomodation

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the major works packages referred to by the Parliament’s Clerk/Chief Executive during the Audit Committee meeting on 3 October 2000 (Official Report, col. 406) have now been awarded; if so, whether the project management team has been able to review the inflation risks with the cost consultants in the light of these tender results, and what conclusions and recommendations arose from any such review.

Sir David Steel: I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that some, but not all, of the works packages referred to have been awarded. Project Management are currently reviewing the impact of the inflation risk in the light of these contracts and a report will be made to MSPs shortly.